Crumbling sidewalk poses challenge for Baton Rouge quadriplegic

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BATON ROUGE, LA (NBC33) — When Glen Gaudet noticed the cracks forming on the sidewalk by the intersection of Coursey BLVD and Market Street he immediately notified DPW.

"When I first noticed it, it wasn't as bad. And it continued to get worse and I reported it to the city and the city lost the work order and I had to report it again, and they still haven't got to it," said Gaudet.

Coursey BLVD only has a sidewalk on one side of the street and it is a road Gaudet uses frequently to get around. So that fact that it still hasn't been fixed is frustrating.

"I think about them refurbishing the new library, the main one, and I heard that when you walk on the floor it lights up. I think that instead of spending that money on a floor that lights up that serves no purpose, they can fix sidewalks," he added.

With no other routes to get to certain places, Gaudet has had to test his luck plenty of times and it puts him in danger.

"I have got stuck once and fortunately the light turned red and somebody jumped out of the car and pushed me out of the hole. Other times I've got stuck, I've had to rock back and forth to get out," he said.

Thankfully it's never happened, but Glen told NBC 33 that everyday when he tries to navigate by this part of the sidewalk, he has fears that his motorized wheelchair might fall over, and with his health concerns, something like that can prove to be fatal.

"The worst case scenario is that my injury is so high that I don't sweat, so if I am laying out here in the sun, I can get overheated really fast," he said.

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